Jon’s Blog

McDonalds and Microsoft are Improving

4 days ago
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A new series of McDonalds commercials shows two hipsters discussing McDonalds' new espresso. When the word "McDonalds" is uttered, the hipsters recoil, and then one admits that they like McDonalds. Then the other admits it too, and they riff about how they're tired of being pretentious, and head off to the nearest McDonalds franchise.

I think these ads are fantastic because they're at least partially realistic. In the last decade we've been treated to the "Isn't it hilarious how fanatical our fans are?" ad countless times, but they're never for brands that anyone feels that strongly about. Brands that really do get people crazy like Apple and Harley-Davidson don't run ads like those. So instead it's some Sprite commercial where a guy builds a spaceship out of Sprite bottles because he wants to Obey His Thirst ... in space.

But the McDonalds ad doesn't pretend people are fanatical, or even neutral. They openly admit that McDonalds isn't cool, however briefly, before continuing with their pitch. And allowing this little ray of reality to intrude on what ends up being a pretty generic new product pitch makes all the difference. By making a tiny bit of fun of their bad PR, they look clued in. This is something McDonalds some trouble with, and these ads address it well.

Microsoft?

I am a big time Apple and Microsoft watcher, so Ballmer's quote about Apple a few weeks ago gave me pause. Rather than continuing with the approach that made Microsoft, often referred to as the "ecosystem" strategy, Ballmer openly announced that they're moving away from it. In favor of Apple's "own everything" strategy. Because the ecosystem strategy doesn't work for fantastic user experience.

This is huge. It's like America saying capitalism isn't working well, so they're going to try communism. It's amazing that they're going to pivot to an approach they have always looked down on, and it's doubly amazing that Microsoft, who is traditionally more arrogant than Apple, is admitting the need to change.

It's huge enough that I'm a little scared for Apple and AAPL. There are two reasons that Apple has been able to differentiate itself in the last decade: owning the hardware and the software, and Microsoft's apparent refusal to admit that their strategy needs improvement, allowing Apple to get away with murder without a real response from Redmond.

Now that Microsoft has admitted it has a problem, they might start achieving great things again. Apple should be worried.

Glee

Jul 4, 2008
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I remember the Mac shareware boom in the 90's. You'd get a CD-ROM tucked inside a Mac magazine stuffed full of shareware goodies and the quality was actually pretty good. I'd usually find a few gems per disc.

I remember the version tracker boom several years ago. It was sort of like the first boom but with all the improvements the Internet enables, like ratings, comments, and "more like this" sidebars.

I think the AppStore boom is going to be a much bigger deal. The distribution is better, sure,, but the exciting part is that this will be a whole new platform.

I think I'm about to download about 100 new apps in the near future. I'm not kidding or exaggerating.

The Obama Surprise

Jul 1, 2008
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Obama is a centrist. If this is a shock to you, you *really* haven't been paying attention.

This is why i'm voting for him. If you want a liberal version of Bush, completely unwilling to compromise and keeping your lib cred intact, I hear Nader is running again.

Brainstorming design

Jun 16, 2008
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My favorite thing art school was the peer review. I loved getting feedback on my art, and I loved talking to other artists about their approach. It made all of us better.

I just got back from Apple's big developer conference, and realized how much I missed peer reviews. I don't know that I have ever had an idea of higher quality than the ideas that routinely bubble out of a brainstorming session.

I am thrilled about the ideas I will be implementing in the coming months, but I can't take sole credit for any of them. But I don't mind.

It's like being given the best food you've ever tasted - don't be mad it's not your recipe, learn from it, enjoy it, and incorporate it into your personal cookbook.

The Trip, On An iPhone

May 25, 2008
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We've been dreading this for months, maybe years. One of my main parenting fears has always been traveling. I can deal with all sorts of tough parenting problems in the home, but throw my screaming baby on a plane full of strangers and I'm at a loss. I'd prefer to be at home 10 to 1 for most things, but dealing with a baby is more like 1000 to 1.

There were to be 5 flights total. The first was pretty long an the kid did great. Then we got cocky, and each progressive flight was worse than the one before it.

I'm now in the final hour of the final flight. Things got downright hellish at first, but we eventually got him to sleep. Then some more. Now he's lazing on Sarah and he looks like an angel.

A few hours ago I was two screams away from never traveling again. Now I'm being flooded with relief, with sympathy for how much these trips must have been hard for him.

I'm not quite ready to admit it until we're safely off the plane, but this was so hard, and so worth it. Just like being a dad.

First Laptop in a Decade

May 14, 2008
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The last time I used a laptop was during the last internet bubble. It was a gorgeous Powerbook G3, it was black, and I took it with me everywhere.

But then I got tired of the limitations of a laptop when compared to a desktop. Less expandable, more expensive, more likely to break, slower. And sure, I could bring it with me wherever I went, but it made my shoulder hurt. After leaving school to go to a full time job, which provided me with several computers, it didn't seem that useful to be mobile.

But now it is, and I love it. Laptops have a personality. They're like your favorite pair of jeans that fit perfectly because you wear them all the time. And thanks to Apple's Migration Assistant, I was able to easily move over all the things I need from my big lumbering desktop system.

My Mario Kart Friend Code is 3136-7153-0994

May 8, 2008
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Let me know if you want to connect. Playing with friends is better than racing ButtPooSmash93.

HOLY CRAP MS WALKS AWAY FROM YAHOO TAKEOVER

May 3, 2008
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I sort of expected this. I even placed a bet on it at hubdub.com, but it was a tiny bet because I sort of thought I'd be wrong.

The deal was always bad for Microsoft, for Yahoo, for everyone, but I thought Microsoft was stupid enough to go through with it. Tonight's news shows that they're not as crazy as I previously thought.

Or are they? The original announcement pushed Yahoo's price up and Microsoft's price down. This made Microsoft's offer less generous than it was at first, but on Monday, Yahoo's price is likely to plummet back down again.

So I wonder: is Microsoft going to try again in a few months? Yahoo will likely have some shareholders angry with them for their positioning in this deal. If so, Yahoo's leadership will be weakened further, making a takeover bid even easier in the future.

So Yahoo will stumble on while people wonder aloud if it'll rise back to its former glory. But they're not the company I'm concerned about. People may think Yahoo is a has-been, hardly relevant in the internet space, helpless against overwhelming Google dominance. And maybe that's all true. But they still have four times the marketshare of Microsoft, the largest software company on the planet, the maker of the most popular browser on earth and the most popular OS.

Yahoo isn't the one underperforming.

RIM Looking for Cocoa Engineers

May 1, 2008
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RIM, maker of the Blackberry, is apparently hiring Cocoa engineers. And this is another reason why I don't like RIM.

Clearly they're not hiring these developers to write iPhone apps. With requested skills like "synchronization", they're obviously looking to fix a glaring hole in Blackberry support: Blackberries don't work on Macs.

So 5 years ago, when rumors of an Apple-branded phone started up, RIM didn't do anything.

2-3 years ago, when Apple pointedly say "it's not like we're sitting around doing nothing" in response to a question about an Apple branded phone, they did nothing.

1-2 years ago, when Apple's Mac marketshare started accelerating upwards, they did nothing.

18 months ago, when the iPhone was first rumored and then announced, they did nothing.

About a year ago, when the iPhone launched to rave reviews, they did nothing.

Six months ago, when it was obvious that the iPhone was in second place only to RIM, they did nothing.

And now that Apple is about to release 3rd party apps at WWDC in June, RIM has decided maybe they should do something.

I've never thought this company was particularly visionary, and their UI has always struck me as Windows 3.1-like. And I could be wrong about both of these things.

But there's little doubt they don't understand their competitive landscape. And all the understanding in the world won't keep them in first place longer than a year or two longer.

Touchscreen versus multitouch

Apr 28, 2008
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The other day I was told that "other companies will release touchscreen devices", as if that's all the iPhone has going for it. In fact, the touchscreen is a liability which happens to be offset by other features. Competitors who only ape the touchscreen without working hard on the interface will actually end up with a less competitive device than if they stuck with a traditional keypad.

Let's be clear about the tradeoffs here. The soft keyboard is harder to type on because it provides no tactile feedback. But by making the device into one big screen, video and applications can be designed differently and better. To further tip the scales, Apple has made the keyboard guess what you meant to type so when you fat finger a response, the phone can prevent you from having to correct.

It's doing it as I type this very post, in fact.

Now. Let's say a competitor launches a device with a flat screen to reap the same benefits. Video would still look great and support more codecs. Awesome. But will it connect to iTunes? Not legally.

So you have a device with no iTunes music or video and applications designed by - who? Java developers? Windows? They've had their chance to prove they can write strong applications on the phone or the desktop, and in my judgement, most can't.

So no iTunes, applications that I'm assuming won't be great, and you're still stuck with a soft keyboard. All the pain with none of the benefit.

And then there's multitouch. I don't know what patents Apple has, but if the clickwheel was never legally copied, I bet a lot of the multitouch interface will be similarly locked down. Competitors are going to need a lot more than a touchscreen to compete with Apple.